Switching it up
West Hartford restaurant is rebranding its taste and menu. It’s for the ‘thing they do perfect,’ according to manager.
There’s a distinctly different taste coming to a West Hartford restaurant.
Americana restaurant, open for less than a year, is rebranding itself to a cuisine the executive chef/owner grew up with: authentic Mexican.
General Manager Mike Walker, who is leading the rebrand, said the restaurant at 179 Park Road, which opened in April 2023, will become Salt + Lime Mexican Cantina.
Americana, meanwhile, remains open. The change is expected to take place in a few weeks when new signage and permits are complete.
“One thing they do perfect is Mexican and there’s none in this side of town,” Walker said of the decision.
He said Americana restaurant was doing OK, but not thriving as much as owners Enrique and Julie Rodriguez had hoped.
He said they came to the name Salt + Lime because both ingredients are common in Mexican food, from margaritas to street tacos.
Enrique grew up cooking in Mexico, has lots of recipes and relatives who know the cuisine.
Walker, who owns a small personal fitness business, We-ha Fitness, has about 25 years in the restaurant industry and met the Rodriguezes as a customer of Americana.
Once they settled on the concept, putting a menu together was easy, Walker said.
They will carry traditional Mexican fare, including fajitas, enchiladas, ceviche, mole chicken, street tacos, nachos, quesadillas and keeping a few of Americana’s dishes because of popular demand.
A few customers requested they keep Americana’s marinated, grilled, pan seared pork chop on the menu, so they will.
“The best pork chop you’re ever
going to have,” Walker said. “You have to listen to your customers.”
Walker said he’s from an Italian family and, “When someone walks through the door they’re a guest.”
Walker said he loves that a person could be having a bad day and that can all change when they walk through the door and get food, drinks and attention.
“There’s something magical about someone’s day being turned around,” Walker said. “Food is the ultimate anti-depressant.”
They also have an extensive bar and specialty drinks.
The Rodriguezes reasoning in opening a restaurant with American food as the focus was that any cuisine could fit the bill because, “America is the melting pot,” Julie Rodriguez told the Courant last year.
The 5,045-square-foot restaurant has a patio that seats 60, and inside seating for 120.
Walker said the atmosphere in Salt + Lime won’t have a typical Mexican restaurant look, but rather,
“We’re going for a fresh Baja vibe,” Walker said.
Enrique, who came to the United States from Mexico at age 17, started as a line cook and worked his way up to executive status at Cheesecake Factory, where the couple met.
The couple has owned take-out restaurants with Mexican flair, including in Parkville Market.
“I’m passionate about food,” Enrique said.
Julie Rodriguez said she and her husband make a great team because he is the chef/kitchen expert and her strength is working front of house.